The Power Of Love
by CCAliKing
Summary: Inspired by the Carla/Frank storyline. Carla and Peter are madly in love and their relationship is stronger than ever. Carla is finally managing to get her life back on track after she was raped but when Frank Foster strikes again will he be able to destroy Carla forever?
1. Chapter 1

Carla slowly opened her eyes and looked around the flat she shared with Peter. Another place, along with her own flat, which would now be tainted with painful memories. Her body lay sprawled across the bedroom floor, her face pressed against the soft material of the carpet. As she lay there the horrible memories of that night back in September came flooding back and filled her mind. She felt the same pain, physically and emotionally, Frank Foster had once again managed to destroy her. She lifted her hand to try and feel around for her phone to contact Peter but she couldn't find it. As she tried to move, the pain that rippled through her body was unbearable. It was only when she tried to lift her head that she noticed the pool of blood surrounding her. She managed to move her hand to the back of her head and suddenly felt faint at the sight of the blood which now covered her hand. The pain in her head was now becoming unbearable and as her vision became blurry her eyes closed and all she could see was darkness as she once again drifted out of consciousness.

Peter was on his way home with Simon after picking him up from school and both of them were chatting and laughing as they walked home.

"What's for tea tonight dad?"

"I don't know son, you'll need to ask Carla, she's cooking"

"Why does she have to cook? Can I have my tea at Grandma and Grandad's?" Simon moaned

He was getting on better with Carla but he was still being difficult

"No Si, you're having your tea with me and Carla" Peter said,

"Fine" Simon replied

"Dad, I'll race you home" Simon said as the two of them entered Coronation Street.

"Go on then, on your marks, get set, GO!" Peter said, as Simon ran off towards the house.

"I'm gonna beat you!" Simon laughed as he ran round the corner.

Simon was only a few houses away from the flat as he looked over his shoulder, happy with the fact that his dad was nowhere to be seen and he had won the race. He approached the flat and opened the door before running up the stairs. He pushed open the door of the flat and went into the kitchen expecting Carla to be there cooking his tea. This is weird, he thought as he noticed Carla's shoes sitting by the front door and her bag and jacket thrown over the sofa.

"Carla" he shouted, walking through the flat towards Carla and Peter's bedroom. He pushed open the door seeing Carla lying on the floor, her eyes closed and blood surrounding her head. He raced over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder gently shaking her trying to wake her up. "Carla, wake up" he said, his voice quivering as he tried not to cry. Carla remained unconscious and Simon ran out of the room to find Peter.

Peter was approaching the flat as Simon rushed out of the front door."DAD! DAD!" He shouted as he ran to him.

"Si what's wrong pal?" He asked, noticing his son's distressed state.

"Something's happened to Carla!" He said as tears began to fall down his cheeks.

Peter felt as if his heart had stopped for a minute. No, this couldn't be happening; he just hoped it wasn't what he thought it might be.

Peters heart was beating hard through his chest as he ran upstairs and into the bedroom seeing Carla unconscious and on the floor in a pool of blood. He ran over to her grabbing hold of her hand and trying to wake her up.

"Carla, it's me baby, can you hear me?" He said, trying not to cry "please wake up for me, open your eyes, squeeze my hand, anything, please Car"

Peter looked over to Simon who was peering round the door

"Si, listen son, I need you to run as fast as you can to Grandma and Grandad's and get Grandad to come here and you stay with Grandma okay?"

"Okay dad, is Carla okay?"

"She'll be okay pal, she just needs to go to hospital so that the doctors can make her better okay?" Peter said, trying to hide the uncertainty in his voice.

"Okay" Simon said running out of the flat and towards Ken and Deirdre's.

Peter called an ambulance and sat down next to Carla. He couldn't help but cry at the sight of her clothes which were ripped and torn and the bruises starting to form round her wrists and dotted around her neck and chest. She had a bruise beginning to form across her cheek and the marks around her hairline where his nails had dug into her skin made Peter feel sick. He just hoped that the ambulance would be here soon. "Carla just hang in there baby, the ambulance will be here soon, you're going to be okay I promise you, I'm not going to let anything happen to you I love you"

Ken and Deirdre were sitting in their front room when suddenly there was a loud banging on the front door.

"I wonder who that could be" Ken said as he got up from his chair and went to answer the door. He was shocked to see Simon standing at the door in a state, his eyes red from crying

"Grandad you need to go to the flat something's wrong with Carla"

"What's happened?!" Ken asked worried,

"I went in from school and found her on the floor and she had her eyes closed and wouldn't wake up"

"Oh no" Ken muttered as he went in to get Deirdre

"What's going on?" Deirdre asked as she appeared from the kitchen

"I'm not sure" Ken replied, "something's happened to Carla I need to go round there, you stay here and look after Simon" Ken said grabbing his coat and running out the door towards Peter's flat.

"Peter!" He shouted as he ran up the stairs of the flat.

"In here". Ken followed Peter's voice into the bedroom where he was shocked to see Carla lying unconscious on the floor.

"Oh my god what happened?" Ken asked, crouching down next to Peter.

"I don't know Dad, I found her like this when I got home"

Ken was struggling to take in the scene before him, Carla was so pale, all colour had drained from her body and blood was surrounding her head

"Here, keep this pressed against her head it'll stop the bleeding" He said, passing Peter a blanket from the bed, "have you called an ambulance?"

"Yeah they're on their way. I'm gonna kill him dad, I'm gonna kill Frank Foster, he's done it again, he's.. he's raped her" Peter said, bursting into tears, leaning his head against Carla's unconscious body hoping that the ambulance would get here soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Carla could hear the faint voices of people around her but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't open her eyes. She could feel Peter hold her hand tightly and could hear a voice she thought was Ken's somewhere in the room. She was still in so much pain and her head was pounding. She then heard two unfamiliar voices enter the room who she assumed were paramedics as she had heard Peter call for an ambulance. She wanted to open here eyes, to squeeze Peter's hand, to do anything just to let him know she was okay but she couldn't move. She was lifted onto a stretcher and felt a sharp pain as a needle went into her hand to attach an IV drip. She could still feel Peter holding onto her hand as she was carried out into the ambulance.

Peter followed the paramedics out of the flat,  
"I can only take one person in the ambulance" the paramedic said  
"I'll go" Peter replied, "dad can you go and make sure Simon's okay, and someone needs to tell Michelle, she'll probably be wondering why Carla didn't go back to the factory"  
"Yeah I'll go and let Michelle know now, keep me updated yeah?"  
"Yeah I will, thanks dad"

The ambulance drove out of Coronation Street and towards the hospital as Ken headed towards the factory to see Michelle.

In Underworld, the sound of machines could be heard along with the continuous chatting of the workforce and the radio playing in the background.

"Wonder where Mrs C has got to" Sean said, "she'll be wanting to check this order before it's sent away and Kirk's due to leave in ten minutes"  
"I'm sure Michelle can check it, she's maybe been held up in a meeting or something" Sally said  
"Yeah probably" Sean agreed

"Michelle do you know where Carla is?" Fiz asked Michelle who appeared from the office looking stressed  
"No I can't get hold of her, her phone keeps going straight to voicemail. She said she wanted to check that order before it went out" Michelle said, going over to check on the order. Just at that, Ken walked into the factory.  
"Oh hiya Ken, what can I do for you?" Michelle smiled  
"Michelle can I have a word?" Ken said, not wanting to be the one to have to tell Michelle what had happened to her best friend.  
"Yeah sure, you haven't seen Carla have you? I've been trying to get hold of her all afternoon"  
"Yeah, umm.. that's why I came here"  
"Oh great, where is she then?" Michelle asked, confused when she relieved silence from Ken  
The factory workers looked on in confusion wondering what was going on.  
"Maybe we should take this somewhere more private" Ken said as Michelle lead him into the office away from the ears of the workers.  
"Ken has something happened? Where's Carla?"  
"Michelle, you better sit down"  
"Ken just tell me what's going on?!" Michelle said, fearing the worst.  
"Carla's been taken to hospital, I think she's been.. um.. attacked"  
"What?!" Michelle gasped, as tears filled her eyes  
"Peter came home from picking Simon up and found her unconscious, she's just been taken away in the ambulance, I'm really sorry Michelle"  
"No.. this can't be happening! He did this to her didn't he, Frank Foster, please tell me he hasn't done it again"  
Ken nodded sadly at Michelle who burst into tears. Ken pulled an upset Michelle into a comforting hug and let her cry on his shoulder.  
"I'll kill him Ken, I'll flamin' kill him" she shouted, grabbing her bag and jacket, "I need to get to the hospital"  
"Yeah of course, I'll get you a cab"

Michelle practically ran out of the office, her eyes red and her cheeks stained with tears.  
"Right you lot, take the rest of the day off" Michelle said, make sure you're all here first thing tomorrow morning.  
"Is everything okay Michelle?" Hayley asked looking worried, "is Mrs Connor alright?"  
"Yeah, everything's fine" Michelle lied, knowing Carla wouldn't want people knowing her business, "can you lock up for us Hayley?" Michelle said as she ran out the door towards streetcars.  
"Everything is definitely not fine" Beth said once Michelle was out of earshot  
"No something is definitely going on" Izzy agreed as they all wondered what had happened.

Peter had been pacing the corridor of the hospital for the last hour, as soon as Carla was brought in she was taken away and Peter hadn't seen her since. He was waiting for a doctor to tell him what was happening and he was getting increasingly worried as time went on.  
"Peter" he looked up to see Michelle running towards him with Steve following "what's going on? Is Carla alright?" She asked, tears once again falling down her cheeks  
"I don't know Michelle, they haven't told me anything since they brought her in about an hour ago" Peter replied struggling to fight back his own tears.  
"I'll kill him Peter, how dare he do this to her again"  
"Come here babe, it's alright" Steve said hugging Michelle "I know your angry but you need to calm down for Carla's sake yeah?"  
"Yeah you're right" Michelle said taking a deep breath and wiping her eyes, "she's gonna be alright, our Carla's a fighter, she's gonna get through this and that bastards gonna go to prison this time like he deserves"


	3. Chapter 3

Peter, Michelle and Steve were still waiting at the hospital for news on Carla and it was obvious that they were tired, worn out and emotional. Peter jumped up from his seat and approached the doctor who had come out the door.  
"Are you here for Carla Connor?"  
"Yeah, is she going to be okay?" Peter asked, desperate to know how Carla was.  
"Mrs Connor has some serious injuries and she's still unconscious at the moment, the injury to her head was very serious, we ran some scans and unfortunately she's managed to sustain some internal bleeding around her the brain we've managed to stop the bleeding but the cut in her head was quite deep so we've had to put in stitches to close it. Also she has had some severe bruising across her ribs and a few of her ribs are broken so she's struggling to breathe properly at the moment so we've had to put her on oxygen. I'm really sorry to have to tell you this but from the evidence of the bruising and from Mrs Connor's injuries around her wrists and chest, it looks like she has been raped by her attacker although we can't confirm that until we have Mrs Connor's consent to carry out a rape kit."  
Peter, Michelle and Steve sat there in silence trying to process what they had just been told and trying to understand the severity of Carla's injuries.  
"She will be okay though won't she?" Michelle asked  
"Mrs Connor has some very severe injuries, that blow to the head has been very dangerous, we'll just need to wait and see, she should come round soon, if not then we'll need to take another scan of her brain for anymore damage"  
"What? You're saying she might not wake up?"  
"It's unlikely, but there is a possibility I'm afraid, I'm so sorry"  
"No, I can't lose her" Michelle sobbed, breaking down in tears in Steve's arm  
"Shh, she's gonna be alright Chelle" Steve said, trying to comfort her.  
"Can we see her?" Peter said, although it came out more of a whisper, his voice hoarse from crying.  
"Yeah, she's not woken up yet but hearing familiar voices might help bring her round, if you follow me I'll show you her room. They all followed the doctor to a room where the door was closed.  
"I'll warn you before you go in, you might be shocked by the way she looks, she looks a lot worse than she is" Peter and Michelle nodded as the doctor opened the door. Steve took hold of Michelle's hand which was now shaking and put a supportive hand on Peter's shoulder as they walked into the room.

Peter and Michelle couldn't help but start to cry as they saw Carla's fragile body lying on the hospital bed, even Steve was struggling to fight back tears at the sight. She was so pale, all colour drained from her face, her body was covered in bruises and wires were draped across her body which connected her to the machine in the corner, it's constant beeping filling the silence of the room.

Peter and Michelle walked round to each side of Carla's hospital bed, each taking one of her hands being careful of the needle attaching her to the drip above the bed.  
They both just cried for the woman they both loved so much, hating seeing her like this and wishing there was something they could do to take her pain away.

Back on Coronation Street, Simon was at Ken and Dierdre's and Tracy had arrived a bit earlier on with Amy. Ken has just got back from telling Michelle about Carla.  
"What's going on?" Dierdre asked, worried about Carla  
"Is Carla okay grandad?" Simon asked, not understanding the seriousness of the situation.  
"Listen Simon", Ken said, kneeling down so that he was eye level with Simon, "Carla's a bit poorly at the moment okay, so she's at the hospital so that the doctors can make her better" Ken told him, trying not to worry him.  
"Okay is dad with her?"  
"Yeah he is, so you're going to stay here for a bit okay?"  
"Okay grandad, can I go and see dad and Carla?"  
"You can but just not now okay? Now why don't you go with Tracy and she'll take you and Amy to the park?"  
Tracy agreed, and surprisingly left without any hassle, too take the two young children outside.  
"What's happened Ken is Carla alright?" Dierdre asked,  
"She was attacked Dierdre, Peter's sure it was Frank Foster"  
"He didn't.. You know.. Do it again" Dierdre asked, worried for the reply she might get. Ken nodded sadly confirming Dierdre's worst fears.  
"Poor girl, as if she hasn't been through enough already. Is Peter with her?"  
"Yeah he went with her in the ambulance and Michelle's just gone to the hospital with Steve"  
"She is going to be alright isn't she?"  
"I don't know Dierdre, she's hit her head and lost a lot of blood I'm just waiting for Peter to call and let us know how she is"  
Although Ken and Dierdre hated what Peter had done to Leanne, they had both come to really like Carla and hoped that everything would be okay.


	4. Chapter 4

At the hospital, Peter had just left to go home and tell Ken and Dierde what was happening and to check on Simon. Michelle was alone in the hospital room with Carla as Steve had gone to the canteen to get them both a coffee. Michelle was still sat holding Carla's hand like she had been for the last hour.  
"Please wake up Car" Michelle said, trying to fight back tears, "I can't lose you, I've lost too many people that I love and care about, I don't know how I would cope if you weren't here. Life wouldn't be the same if you weren't around babe, you're going to get through this I promise you, there's so many people who love and care about you. That monsters going to get what he deserves for doing this to you Car I'm telling you. I hate seeing you like this, if I could I would be the one lying there not you. Please wake up Carla.. please.."  
Michelle broke down in tears again and held Carla's hand close to her hoping that she would wake up soon.

Peter was heading back to his flat, after going to Ken and Deirdre's, to pack an overnight bag to stay at the hospital, he wasn't leaving Carla, not ever again.

He suddenly felt sick as he walked into his and Carla's bedroom remembering the scene before him just hours earlier, Carla lying on the floor unconscious, the huge gash in her hear, the scratches, the bruises, the ripped clothes, he couldn't believe she had gone through all this again. The blood stains were still on the duvet which was thrown across the floor. He quickly packed a bag and went into the kitchen, noticing scratches across the kitchen counter in the shape of fingernails, obviously from where Carla had tried to hold onto the furniture to stop him dragging her into the bedroom. He had to get back to Carla. He picked up his jacket and overnight bag and headed to the hospital.

About an hour later Peter came in to the hospital room carrying a coffee.  
"Michelle why don't you get home love, you must be exhausted"  
"I don't want to leave her" Michelle said, not taking her eyes off Carla  
"I know babe but listen, Peter's right, you need to get some rest" Steve said  
"Yeah you're right, you probably want some time on your own with her anyway, call me if anything happens okay?" Michelle said,  
"Of course I will, i'll keep you updated"  
Michelle leaned over and kissed Carla's cheek before whispering in her ear, "love you Car, keep fighting babe"  
Steve took Michelle home and left Peter alone with Carla.

Peter once again took hold of Carla's hand, stroking it gently with his thumb.  
"Carla, baby please wake up, I love you so much and there's so many people that care about you, I'm so sorry for letting that monster do this to you again. I wish I could take all your pain away, I promise you, from now on I'll protect you and I promise you that he'll never get anywhere near you again. I cannot and will not contemplate life without you Carla, I love you so much, you're my best friend, my soul mate. Please baby, please wake up for me"

Peter once again let tears fall down his cheeks as he watched Carla's chest slowly rose and fall as she breathed. It was now coming up to midnight and a nurse entered the room.  
"Mr Barlow you should go home and get some rest, she'll be okay here, we'll look after her"  
"No", Perer shook his head, "I need to stay with her"  
"Okay, but we don't have any spare beds or anything"  
"It's okay I'll sleep on the chair"  
"Okay then, I'll see you in the morning"  
With that, the nurse left and Peter lay back on the chair allowing his heavy eyes to close still holding into Carla's hand as he drifted off to sleep.

It was now nearing 9am and Peter had woken a few hours ago being unable to sleep worrying about Carla.

As he watched her, her head moved slightly and as he squeezed her hand he recieved a gentle squeeze in return.  
"Carla, baby can you hear me?"  
Her eyes slowly fluttered open as she adjusted to the light in the room  
"Peter", his name came out more of a whisper, she was struggling to talk because of the dryness of her throat and the oxygen mask covering her mouth helping her to breathe.  
Peter leaned over and placed a kiss on her cheek  
"what happened?" Carla asked, confused  
"It's alright Car, your in hospital"  
"It hurts Peter, my head hurts"  
"I know baby, I know it does, you must have hit your head so you've got a few stitches, but you're gonna be okay" he said, moving a piece of her hair behind her ear and stroking her cheek gently trying to comfort her.  
"Why am I here Peter?"  
Peter was dreading having to tell her what happened,  
"you were attacked Car, don't you remember?"  
After hearing those words all the painful memories flooded back into Carla's mind from that night. Her body began to shake violently as she remembered the details of what happened. Tears filled her eyes and spilled down her cheeks as she began to sob, pulling Peter closer to her. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him, allowing her to cry into his chest. He rubbed her back in gentle soothing circles to calm her down and kissed the top of her head  
"Frank.." Carla said between sobs, "he.. he did it again Peter"  
Those words made Peter's heart feel like it was breaking in two, "shh, it's okay baby I'm here, I promise I'm not going to let anything happen to you, I love you Carla"


	5. Chapter 5

**Just to make it clear this chapter is Carla's dream and is a flashback shaping what happened. Hopefully it makes sense and fits with the rest of the story :)**

**Thank you for the reviews for this story, I love seeing what people think and I'm glad to see that people are enjoying it. If you do read, please take a few minutes to do a quick review as I like getting feedback. **

**Hope you like this update, thanks! :) **

* * *

_Carla was in the office at the factory with Michelle when she glanced up at the clock and noticed it was almost one o'clock.  
"Chelle I'm going off for lunch, can you finish up here?"  
"Yeah sure, I'll make sure that lot keep working until 1:00"  
"Thanks, right I'm off" Carla said grabbing her coat and bag, "I'll be back in an hour, I need to check that order when it's done so make sure Kirk doesn't leave before I get back"  
"Okay, see you later then"  
Carla made her way out of underworld and across to the flat she shared with Peter. She unlocked the door and went up the stairs, taking her shoes off and putting her jacket and bag on the sofa. She boiled the kettle and poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down on the sofa turning on the TV._

_Frank Foster walked down Coronation Street enjoying the freedom of being able to just walk down the steet after being found not guilty, after getting away with what he did to Carla. He couldn't help an evil smirk appear across his face as he thought about how easy it was to fool the police and to play the victim. Although he had got away with raping Carla, he was still furious with the fact she was with Peter and he felt extreme jealousy towards them. Carla was his, and only his, and he was about to remind Carla of that. On top of everything, Carla had recently managed to buy Frank out of the factory with the help of Michelle and he was out to get her back._

_He had been skulking in the alleyway watching the factory for the last hour until Carla left. She walked across the cobbles in her flat shoes, frank noticed that she had lost the confidence she used to have when strutting across the cobbles in her killer heels. She now looked like a shell of her former self, Frank had managed to destroy her, he felt like she was his possession, he wanted to own her and control her and that's what he was about to do. He watched her fumble with her keys and unlock the door of the flat, walking up the stairs and letting the door swing closed behind her.  
"Oh Carla, you should have locked that door" Frank said smirking as be made his way over to the flat. He made sure nobody was watching and sneaked in the door._

_Carla was in the flat sipping on her coffee when she heard the door opening. She assumed it was Peter coming home to have some lunch so she got up and put on the kettle to make him a cup of coffee.  
"hey baby" she said as she kept stirring the coffee, "how's work? I was just about to have lunch if you want me to make-" Carla dropped the coffee cup in her hand, it smashed to pieces the brown liquid spilled all over the floor as she turned round and noticed that it wasn't Peter that was in the flat but Frank. Carla could feel her heart beating hard against her chest and her body had frozen to the spot with fear.  
"Wh- what do you want?" Carla said, trying to hide the fear in her voice,  
"Just popped by to sort out some.. Unfinished business" Frank smirked  
"Frank please, please just go, I want you to leave" Carla said, wrapping her arms around herself protectively, her voice shaking with fear.  
"Oh no Carla, you should know by now, you picked the wrong person to mess with, you should know I always get my own way, don't I?"_

_Carla tried to remain calm but whole body was shaking with fear. She couldn't go through this again. In one sudden movement Frank lunged forward and grabbed Carla roughly by her wrists and pinned her up against the wall. She winced in pain as the pieces of glass scattered across the floor cut into her bare feet. Carla let out a sob as she realised what he was going to do to her. Frank tightened his grip on her wrists as she squirmed beneath him.  
"Frank please, you're hurting me" Carla sobbed,  
He released his grip from her wrists and grabbed fistfuls the her hair, dragging her kicking and screaming towards the bedroom.  
"Frank please don't do this" Carla pleaded, "please stop" she begged  
"Shut up!" Frank shouted, raising his fist, Carla let out a scream as his hand collided with her cheek, he held his hand over her mouth to silence her screams. Carla remained silent, trying not to cry, having learnt from bitter experience that screaming for him to stop would only make things worse. He ripped her clothes, pulling up her skirt and ripping her shirt open. Carla watched as the buttons from her shirt scattered across the floor.  
"No no no" she muttered under her breath as the weight of his body came down against hers.  
Carla tried to ignore the pain caused by him that was pulsing through her lower body. She screamed as a huge pain shot across her abdomen. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her head back to silence her and she felt his fingernails dig into the skin on her head.  
Carla had zoned out completely and managed to use every last bit of strength left in her body to push him off of her. He grabbed her again throwing her against the bed. With a loud thud, the back of her head collided with the edge of the bedside table and unbearable pain went through her head, her vision became blurry and as her eyes closed, her body succumbed to the darkness._

_Frank grabbed Carla by the shoulders and as he tried to throw her back down onto the bed to continue where he left off, her head hit the edge of the bedside table with a deafening thud. He watched as her eyes closed and he let go of her, he watched her fall back as her lifeless body fell to the floor._


	6. Chapter 6

Carla had woken up and was making progress. She was now able to breathe on her own but was now asleep in the hospital resting. Peter was watching her sleep, not wanting to take his eyes off her fearing that something might happen. Carla started to move around in her sleep becoming restless and uncomfortable. She started muttering words in her sleep and shouting, "NO! Frank please" she begged, throwing her head from side to side against the pillow. Her body began to shake violently in her sleep, Peter reached over and took her hand, trying to calm down causing her eyes to shoot open at his touch and causing her to jump, moving away from Peter, "NO! Get away from me!" She shouted, wrapping her arms around herself, wincing with the pain of her broken ribs.  
"Carla baby it's me, it's okay I'm here"  
"P-Peter" she whispered, shuffling closer to him beginning to cry,  
"Come here baby it's okay", he said climbing onto the bed next to her and pulling her close to him in a tight hug,  
"Shhh, you're safe here baby" he said stroking her hair and kissing her head trying to calm her down.  
"He was here Peter"  
"It's okay Car, it was just a dream, your safe here I promise"

Peter lay there holding Carla in his arms until she fell asleep again. A few hours later, Carla was asleep in Peter's arms as Michelle walked in.  
"Hey, how is she" Michelle asked  
"She's a bit better, the scan came back clear so there's no more internal bleeding from where she hit her head and she's not in as much pain anymore. She just keeps having nightmares, she woke up screaming and crying thinking Frank was here and she's just cried herself to sleep. I feel so helpless Michelle"  
"I know, so do I, but it's normal I suppose for her to have nightmares, I can't even imagine what he's put her through, it makes me sick. I'm glad she's getting better though"  
"I know, I'll kill him if I see him. I'm just so glad she's going to be okay. She still has to talk to the police and everything, it's going to be so much harder for her this time"  
"I know, but she'll get through it Peter, I know she will, tough as old boots she is" Michelle said smiling, remembering back to one of the many times she had told Michelle she was "tough as old boots".  
"She's gonna need all the help she can get to get through this" Peter said, not taking his eyes off of Carla who was sleeping in his arms.  
"Yeah, we're gonna need to be there for her, we both know that she wouldn't ask for help, you know what she's like, always putting on a brave face and all that, but underneath it all she's just a vulnerable girl that wants to have someone who'll love her"

About an hour later, Carla had woken up again and was chatting to Michelle while Peter had gone home for a bit to get changed and to see Simon.

Michelle had come up from the canteen carrying some magazines which she passed to Carla.  
"Here you go babe, got you these, probably a load of rubbish in it but it'll give you something to do if you're bored"  
"Aww thanks Chelle" Carla smiled, taking the magazines from Michelle and having a quick flick through one of them. Michelle sat down on the chair next to Carla's bed with a not cup of coffee in her hands.  
"I could murder a cup of coffee right now" Carla said, causing Michelle to laugh,  
"I know darlin' but your under strict instructions to stick to water"  
"But it's so boring" Carla moaned "im sick of all this hospital food and water, it's disgusting. I want to go home"  
"I know Car, the doctor says you can go home in a few days, you just need to rest for a bit"  
"Yeah, I can't wait to get out of here"  
"Have you spoken to the police yet?" Michelle asked,  
"No, I don't even know if I want to press charges"  
"What?!" Michelle said almost spitting out her coffee, "Carla you have to press charges, you can't let him get away with it again"  
"What's the point Chelle? He's fooled them before, he'll do it again, the justice system is a joke, I'll just be laughed out of court again"  
"You won't babe, not this time, me and Peter will be here for you every step of the way, we need to get him behind bars to rot in prison where he belongs"  
"They won't believe me, did you see the way DC Malone looked at me last time, she didn't believe a word"  
"That Malone woman was a right cow anyway, we'll get someone else, I promise you Car, you'll get justice babe, you've got to do this"  
"Your right Chelle, I need to fight back, he needs to get what he deserves" Carla said coldly, the thought of Frank sending shivers through her body.

Peter had just got out of the car in Coronation Street and walked towards Ken and Dierdre's.  
"Peter! Come in, how's Carla?" Ken asked leading Peter inside the house,  
"She's gonna be okay, thankfully, she was so lucky dad, he could have done some real damage but luckily she's not in any danger, the blessings stopped and she's recovering, it's so hard for her though, she keeps having nightmares and cried herself to sleep", Peter said sadly, trying to fight back his own tears when thinking of Carla  
"Poor girl, I'm just so glad she'll be okay. I can't imagine what she's been through" Dierdre said, feeling sorry for Carla. All the time Ken and Dierdre had known Carla, she always the tough businesswoman who battled through anything that life threw at her and to think of her being so broken and crying herself to sleep shocked them and made them realise how fragile she really was.  
"Where's Si?" Peter asked,  
"He's upstairs, just go up and get him if you want, he's been up there all afternoon, he seems a bit upset, probably just with everything that's going on.

Peter went upstairs to see Simon, he opened the door and saw him sitting on the bed facing away from him.  
"Hey Si", Peter said, sitting down next to him,  
"Dad!" Simon said hugging Peter,  
"You alright pal?"  
"Yeah I suppose, are we going home yet?"  
"Not yet son, Carla's still in hospital just now"  
Simon stayed silent for a few minutes, before looking up at Peter,  
"Is she feeling better"  
"She's getting better Si, it's just going to take some time"  
"Oh.." Simon remained silent for another few minutes, "dad, I didn't mean to be horrible to Carla, she's not that bad, I just wanted things to be back to the way the were with you me and Leanne" he said, feeling guilty about being so rude to Carla.  
"I know that son" Peter said ruffling his curls, "but that's not going to happen I'm afraid, I'm with Carla now. But I want you to try and do something for me?"  
"What is it dad?"  
"Can you try and be nice to Carla for me, while she's getting better, I reckon you two would get on well if you gave her a chance, I know things are a bit difficult just now Si, but me and Leanne will always love you no matter what okay?"  
"Okay dad, I love you too" Simon said, hugging his dad.  
"Dad? Can I come with you to see Carla"  
Peter was shocked that Simon was making an effort with Carla and was glad that hopefully he would be able to accept the fact that they were together.  
"I think she would like that"

A few hours later and Carla and Michelle were still chatting and catching up in the hospital when Peter came in.  
"Hey, I have a visitor for you"  
Carla sat up on the bed wondering who he could have brought with him.  
Peter stepped into the room and Simon emerged from behind the door carrying a bouquet of a flowers and some chocolates.  
"Hi Carla, we got you some flowers and dad said these were your favourite chocolates" Simon said, handing Carla the gifts.  
"Aww they're beautiful, thank you Simon"  
Carla placed the flowers along with the chocolates on the table next to her.  
"Right I'm gonna get off Carla, I'll see you tomorrow" Michelle said, leaning over and hugging Carla, call me if you need anything, love you!" Michelle said as she left, "love you too"

Peter and Simon sat on the two chairs by Carla's bed and Peter took hold of her hand, "how are you love, are you okay?"  
"Yeah I'm alright, just a bit sore but hopefully I'll be out of here soon"  
"Yeah, hopefully you'll be home in a few days"  
"I can't wait, this place is driving me insane"

Peter and Simon sat with Carla for a while until Carla became tired and started to yawn,  
"Peter why don't you go home baby, spend some time with Simon, and get a decent nights sleep, that chair looks so uncomfortable I don't know how you managed to sleep on that thing."  
"Are you sure you'll be okay on your own?"  
"I'll be fine baby I promise, you look exhausted, nothing's going to happen I'm safe here."  
"Okay, only if you're sure, I'll be back tomorrow morning"  
Peter got up and kissed Carla's lips gently, "night baby, I love you"  
"Love you too Peter"  
"Bye Carla" Simon said getting up from the chair and following Peter to the door.  
"Bye Simon" Carla smiled, happy that for the first time they actually got on.


	7. Chapter 7

It was a few days later and had now been almost two weeks since Frank had attacked Carla. Since then, Carla had given a full statement to the police and they were currently searching for Frank who had not been seen since the attack.

Carla and Peter were at the hospital packing up Carla's things ready to go home.  
"Is that everything Car?" Peter asked picking up the bag from the bed.  
"Yeah that's everything I think" Carla said, attempting to get up from the bed.  
"Come here" Peter said, putting his arms around her waist pulling her up gently from the bed.  
"Here you go love" Peter said handing Carla the crutches she had been given as she was struggling to walk because her broken ribs hadn't healed properly yet.

Carla and Peter made their way out of the hospital and towards the car which was parked outside.  
Peter put the bags in the boot before opening Carla's door to help her in and putting her seatbelt on for her.

Peter went round to the drivers side and got in, starting the engine.  
"Right, lets get you home" Peter smiled placing his hand on Carla's knee and giving it a squeeze.

Their car pulled up in Coronation Street and Peter stopped outside his flat above the bookies.

As Peter was helping Carla out the car, she heard a familiar voice from down the street.  
"Mrs Connor!"  
"Oh not now" Carla thought, "at least let me get in the house before they start gossiping"  
"It's so good to see you on your feet again, we've been so worried" Beth said, Carla was shocked to hear such sensitivity coming from her  
"Thanks" Carla smiled, trying to get into the house  
"Don't you worry about the factory Mrs C, Hayley and Michelle have got the place running like clockwork"  
"That's good, I'll be back as soon as I can" Carla said, giving Peter a nudge for him to start walking inside so that she no longer had to receive any sympathy from her workers,  
"Am I hearing things or did I just hear that lot asking how I was rather than gossiping"  
"I know love, Beth Tinker actually showing some sensitivity"  
"Someone must 'ave put something in her coffee"  
Peter couldn't help but laugh at her as he helped her inside, he loved how she getting back to herself and glimpses of the old Carla were coming back, he loved her witty comments and her sense of humour.

About half an hour later, Carla was lying on the sofa watching tv wrapped in a duvet and Peter had just made them both a hot chocolate.  
"Are you okay love, do you want anything" Peter asked,  
"Peter I'm fine, you asked about 30 seconds ago"  
"Sorry, I'm just worried about you"  
"Aww you big softie" Carla laughed, "although there is something I'd like"  
"What's that?" Peter smiled  
"A cuddle" Carla said, pulling back the duvet and patting the space on the sofa next to her,  
"I can certainly do that" Peter said, climbing onto the sofa and lying next to her wrapping the duvet around them both. He wrapped his arms around Carla as she lay her head on his chest.  
"I love you" Peter whispered, running his hand through her hair,  
"I love you too" Carla said closing her eyes and snuggling up to Peter.

A few hours later and Carla woke up on the sofa with the duvet wrapped around her.  
"Peter?" she shouted, wondering where he was, she hated to think she was on her own after what happened,  
"Peter?!" She shouted a bit louder  
"What's wrong baby?" He asked, rushing through from the bathroom.  
Carla breathed a sigh of relief when she realised she was safe knowing morning would happen to her if Peter was there "sorry I didn't know where you'd gone, I though you'd gone out"  
"No, I was running you a bath"  
"Aww thanks baby" Carla smiled, throwing back the duvet and getting up slowly from the sofa trying not to cause any pain in her ribs. Peter took her hand and placed his hand on her hip guiding her through to the bathroom,  
"Aww well ain't you cute" Carla said giggling as she looked at the deep bath filled with bubbles surrounded by candles and the lights dimmed.  
"Thanks baby" Carla said leaning over and kissing Peter, "love you"

Later on, Peter heard Carla moving around in the bathroom, assuming she was finished in her bath he went over to the door, knocking on it gently,  
"You okay Carla?"  
"Yeah, just struggling to get changed" he heard the lock click and the door open slowly, "can you help me?"  
"Of course, come here" Peter helped Carla into her pyjamas and lifted her into his arms and carried her through, laying her gently on the sofa and wrapping her in the duvet again. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, running his hand through her hair, "I love you" he said, kissing her lips softly and hugging her tightly.

That night Carla and Peter were lying in bed holding each others hands with their fingers entwined.  
"You okay baby?" Peter asked, wrapping his arm around Carla  
"Yeah, just thinking"  
"Oh yeah..what you thinking about love?"  
"Everything, Frank, whether he's going to get sent down for this"  
"Hey of course he is, we're not going to let him get away with it again I promise you"  
"I hope you're right"  
"I'm always right" Peter laughed, kissing her forehead  
"I just can't stop thinking about it, going over everything that happened in my head, seeing his face every time I close my eyes" Carla's voice cracked with emotion as a single tear fell from her eye and rolled down her cheek.  
"Shh come here baby"  
Peter hugged her tightly as she rested her head on his chest  
"I just can't wait for this all to be over"


End file.
